This is certainly incorrect. It *is* widely believed that Soviet texts dating prior to 1973 (when the USSR became party to the relevant convention) may be freely used and considered public domain, but this is almost certainly untrue from a legal standpoint, and copyrighted material produced subsequent to that date is as protected as this message (moreso, perhaps). I, too, ANAL, but I've had numerous long-winded discussions with real, live lawyers on the subject, and I do my best to keep up with it. Perhaps one of our fellow legal hobbyists (James?) can elaborate? -- Austin D. Hair <austin(a)austinhair.org> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Callidus http://www.austinhair.org/